PETALING JAYA: Don’t expect leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) to pull the handbrake when the Super League resumes next week.
The Southern Tigers showed their intent to be competitive when they decided against taking a breather even during the international period by playing in two friendlies to get their new signings assimilated with the team.
The defending Super League champions beat Singapore’s national football team 3-0 at the Kallang Sports Hub in Singapore on Saturday.
Midfielder Nazmi Faiz Mansor rose up to score the first goal in the 31st minute, and their new Colombian signing Jorge Obregon scored in the 58th before winger Mohamadou Sumareh wrapped up the win in the 90th minute.
In a friendly six days ago, JDT beat Thai club Port FC 3-1 with Obregon starring with two goals in the 57th and 90th minutes after the first was netted by wingback Oscar Arribas (14th).
Brazilian striker Willen Mota scored Port’s only goal in the 81st minute.
JDT, owned by the Crown Prince of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, made a whopping seven new signings during the second transfer window.
Besides Obregon, the others are South Korean centreback Park Jun-heong, French winger Enzo Lombardo, Spanish midfielder Iker Undabarrena, Azerbaijan international midfielder Eddy Israfilov, Spanish goalkeeper Christian Abad and Andoni Zubiaurre.
JDT coach Hector Bidoglio said the friendlies were meant to give minutes for the new players and those who had not played often during the domestic season.
“The friendlies against Port FC and the Singapore national team were good. They gave us the platform to test out our new foreign recruits and also gave time for those who had not played often in the team,” he said.
“These friendlies also enabled the new signings to gel with the squad and build the on-pitch understanding.”
Obregon is indeed an exciting one as JDT are continuing to add more firepower despite having top Brazilian strikers like Bergson Da Silva and Heberty Fernandes.
One thing is for sure when the Super League resumes on Friday, JDT will be even stronger as they take on Penang at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.
They are currently heading the table with 22 points from eight games followed by Selangor (19) after nine games. Terengganu are third with 15 points from eight matches.
